1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a method and a system for identifying payment card holder hobbies or interests. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and a system for identifying payment card holder hobbies or interests based on payment card holder purchase behavior, and groupings of merchants based on the merchants line of business or the merchants association with a hobby or interest. The method and system can be used by merchants or businesses to better target customers or enhance existing customer relationships. The method and system can also provide advantages in fraud prevention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Manufacturers, retailers, or other sellers of products (e.g., goods and services) spend a lot of time and money trying to devise ways to get a consumer to buy their products. For example, companies advertise, send incentives for discounts, offer rewards, and other incentives to get consumers to initiate a transaction for the products. However, these efforts are typically provided to the public at large, or at least a relatively large group of consumers, which can result in a high cost and a low return. Also, the timing of any efforts is typically based on when the seller wants to send an incentive, with the seller having no insight as to a beneficial time or manner to send an incentive.
The availability of payment card transaction data provides unique opportunities to service a customer using a payment card. A possible benefit is that if the purchasing behavior of a payment card user is known, targeted advertising can be sent to the user of the payment card. Thus, the user is informed of goods or services (products) that are available at a particular merchant, and the issuer receives the possible benefit of one or more additional transactions being conducted by the payment card user.
A security concern with the use of payment cards is their use at merchants other than the customary merchants used by a payment card user. Often, an issuer of a payment card (such as, for example, credit card, debit card, and prepaid card) has security concerns when questionable transactions at points of sale occur at merchants never before used by the payment card user.
Thus, a need exists for a system and a method that can identify, with as much certainty as possible, associations between merchants and payment card users, including purchasing behavior of the payment card users, that may represent an opportunity for a merchant to offer products or services to the consumer that are specifically tailored to the consumer's upcoming need or desire and communicate the offers to the consumer. Further, a need exists for a system and a method that can identify, with as much certainty as possible, associations between merchants and payment card users, including purchasing behavior of the payment card users, that can help to prevent or reduce the risk of fraud associated with payment card transactions.
Yet further, a need exists for a system and a method that can analyze purchasing or spending behavior of payment card users, identify patterns that suggest that a payment card user has a particular set of life style behaviors (e.g., hobbies, interests, and the like), and use that information for applications such as making offers, preventing fraud (e.g., don't decline a transaction at Pebble Beach golf course if the payment card user is clearly a golfer), targeted advertisements, and the like.